Allies of the former governor () see the determination of Ricardo Couto, president of the Court of Justice, as interim head of the state Executive until the election to command the Guanabara Palace as a type of intervention by the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
The assessment, shared in reserve even by allies of (PSD), is due to the fact that the decision subverts the , which should be partially recomposed in the coming days with the (of Rio de Janeiro).
According to the state Constitution, the head of the Legislature would take over the Executive until the new election for governor and vice president. Minister Cristiano Zanin, from the STF, however, determined on Friday (27) that Couto remain in office until the election that will decide the buffer governor, who will lead Rio de Janeiro until December.
This will be one of the topics to be debated when the ministers decide whether the buffer governor will be chosen by direct or indirect election, via Alerj. There is a possibility, however, that the Rio de Janeiro Legislature will decide its president before this date.
“This is a subversion. We cannot want to invent laws according to the convenience of the moment. It is an unprecedented fact, there are some issues to be discussed, but there is a rule that must prevail. Anything different from this is a new rule that has not passed through parliament. It is an intervention by the STF because it is legislating on something that was not discussed in Parliament”, said senator Carlos Portinho (PL).
Couto took over the Guanabara Palace after Castro’s resignation because the positions of vice-governor and president of Alerj are vacant.
Thiago Pampolha, former deputy, was appointed advisor to the TCE (State Audit Court) last year. (União Brasil) had been removed from command of the Assembly since December and had his mandate revoked by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) on Wednesday (24).
The position of president of Alerj is temporarily occupied by deputy Guilherme Delaroli (PL), who cannot take over the government as he is not the holder of the post.
This scenario should change in the coming days. The TRE (Regional Electoral Court) carries out this Tuesday (31) the totalization of votes after the annulment of Bacellar, elected by the PL. With the new composition, the Assembly can choose its new president. According to the rules, the dispute must be called two days in advance.
Alerj even held an election on Thursday (25), after Bacellar’s impeachment. However, the Court annulled the choice of deputy Douglas Ruas (PL), ordering the TRE to wait for the recount of the votes. He and Paes are pre-candidates for state government
The PL entered the STF with a request to revoke Zanin’s injunction, requesting that the new president of Alerj take over the Executive, as provided for in the state Constitution. The party states that the rule cannot be changed “for any casuistic or subjective reason”
“The interim period exercised by a magistrate lacks the essential element of representative democracy: popular suffrage. While the president of the Legislative Assembly has a mandate conferred by the people and a leadership ratified by his parliamentary peers, the president of the Court of Justice is a legal technician, whose primary function is to judge, not to govern”, states the party’s petition, signed by lawyers Marcelo Bessa and Thiago Fleury.
The lawyers also stated that what is at stake “is knowing whether the state Constitution will continue to be recognized as a binding legal parameter for the organization of power or whether it will be treated as a secondary reference, susceptible to tacit suspension by provisional decisions made based on a ‘chaotic scenario'”.
Even Paes’ allies recognize, with reservations, that Couto’s maintenance in office is an innovation in relation to what is stipulated in the Constitution. The former mayor’s PSD filed the two actions in which the topic is debated. However, the party did not directly ask for the maintenance of the interim governor until the elections.
State deputy Luiz Paulo (PSD) states that the STF should rule on the matter on the 8th, when it will judge the issue. He defends that Alerj waits for the trial to elect its president.
“It is reasonable for Alerj to decide after the 8th. I understand that the Supreme Court decided that, until the 8th, the governor is the president of the TJ. From the 8th, there will be a new decision. Everyone had to wait for the 8th”, said Luiz Paulo.
The PL must maintain Ruas’ nomination for the dispute. Paes’ group is still trying to come up with a name. One of the options is deputy Chico Machado (Solidarity), but the name of André Corrêa (PP) is also considered.
